Pattern forming pulled fronts: bounds and universal convergence

We analyze the dynamics of pattern forming fronts which propagate into an unstable state, and whose dynamics is of the pulled type, so that their asymptotic speed is equal to the linear spreading speed v^*. We discuss a method that allows to derive bounds on the front velocity, and which hence can be used to prove for, among others, the Swift-Hohenberg equation, the Extended Fisher-Kolmogorov equation and the cubic Complex Ginzburg-Landau equation, that the dynamically relevant fronts are of the pulled type. In addition, we generalize the derivation of the universal power law convergence of the dynamics of uniformly translating pulled fronts to both coherent and incoherent pattern forming fronts. The analysis is based on a matching analysis of the dynamics in the leading edge of the front, to the behavior imposed by the nonlinear region behind it. Numerical simulations of fronts in the Swift-Hohenberg equation are in full accord with our analytical predictions.Comment: 27 pages, 9 figure

Front propagation into unstable states: Universal algebraic convergence towards uniformly translating pulled fronts

Fronts that start from a local perturbation and propagate into a linearly unstable state come in two classes: pulled and pushed. ``Pulled'' fronts are ``pulled along'' by the spreading of linear perturbations about the unstable state, so their asymptotic speed $v^*$ equals the spreading speed of linear perturbations of the unstable state. The central result of this paper is that the velocity of pulled fronts converges universally for time $t\to\infty$ like $v(t)=v^*-3/(2\lambda^*t) + (3\sqrt{\pi}/2) D\lambda^*/(D{\lambda^*}^2t)^{3/2}+O(1/t^2)$. The parameters $v^*$, $\lambda^*$, and $D$ are determined through a saddle point analysis from the equation of motion linearized about the unstable invaded state. The interior of the front is essentially slaved to the leading edge, and we derive a simple, explicit and universal expression for its relaxation towards $\phi(x,t)=\Phi^*(x-v^*t)$. Our result, which can be viewed as a general center manifold result for pulled front propagation, is derived in detail for the well known nonlinear F-KPP diffusion equation, and extended to much more general (sets of) equations (p.d.e.'s, difference equations, integro-differential equations etc.). Our universal result for pulled fronts thus implies independence (i) of the level curve which is used to track the front position, (ii) of the precise nonlinearities, (iii) of the precise form of the linear operators, and (iv) of the precise initial conditions. Our simulations confirm all our analytical predictions in every detail. A consequence of the slow algebraic relaxation is the breakdown of various perturbative schemes due to the absence of adiabatic decoupling.Comment: 76 pages Latex, 15 figures, submitted to Physica D on March 31, 1999 -- revised version from February 25, 200

Asymptotic solutions of forced nonlinear second order differential equations and their extensions

Using a modified version of Schauder's fixed point theorem, measures of non-compactness and classical techniques, we provide new general results on the asymptotic behavior and the non-oscillation of second order scalar nonlinear differential equations on a half-axis. In addition, we extend the methods and present new similar results for integral equations and Volterra-Stieltjes integral equations, a framework whose benefits include the unification of second order difference and differential equations. In so doing, we enlarge the class of nonlinearities and in some cases remove the distinction between superlinear, sublinear, and linear differential equations that is normally found in the literature. An update of papers, past and present, in the theory of Volterra-Stieltjes integral equations is also presented

Oscillatory Properties of Solutions of the Fourth Order Difference Equations with Quasidifferences

A class of fourth--order neutral type difference equations with quasidifferences and deviating arguments is considered. Our approach is based on studying the considered equation as a system of a four--dimensional difference system. The sufficient conditions under which the considered equation has no quickly oscillatory solutions are given